To me, September is the perfect time for a teaching preschoolers about apples! The new school year signals that fall’s on its way, bringing with it thoughts of apples and pumpkins. My preschoolers and I had an absolute blast with this apple pie sensory play, which is perfect for an apple theme.
Apple Theme Fun with Scented Sensory Play
Materials We Used
Dry garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
Apple pie spice
Bowls
Trays
Little measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Kid-friendly tweezers
How to Prep the Activity
When I was creating this sensory activity, I knew I wanted a material that looked like apples. I’ve done an apple pie bin with oats in the past, but I wanted something a little different this year. Then I remembered And Next Comes L’s Rainbow Chickpeas and inspiration struck! I dyed the garbanzo beans as she did, but I only used red, yellow, and green.
Once the chickpeas were completely dry, I added apple pie spice and stirred everything up! Then I poured them into a bamboo bowl from our science center. I put the bowl on a tray, along with measuring cups, measuring spoons, and tweezers. I placed a large glass bowl nearby, too.
How the Kids Played
The children loved the “teeny tiny apples that smell so delicious!” I enjoyed watching them smell the beans and exclaim how yummy they smelled. This led to a great discussion about how to make apple pie, as well as different kinds of spices. Some of the children went on to make their own “apple pies”, while others decided to make “colorful apple cakes” for someone’s birthday.
In addition to all of the “baking” that went on, there was tons of measuring, scooping, and pouring. The children used spoons, cups, and tweezers to transfer the apple pie beans between containers. There was also a lot of counting and sorting the mini “apples” throughout center time.
The beans made a fun sound as they were poured onto the wooden tray and into the glass bowl. This led to some over-exuberant pouring for a while, with some apple beans escaping to the floor! Let’s just say the kiddos got to work their fine motor skills while they cleaned up!
What the Kids Learned
Oh so much learning through play:
- The children engaged most of their senses in this activity – sight, hearing, smell, and touch.
- Math was used quite a bit – counting, sorting by color, estimating, and measuring.
- The kids’ fine motor skills were practiced so very much with this activity.
What other sensory ideas do you like to include in an apple theme?
Apple Theme Preschool Lesson Plans
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for classroom teachers and home preschool families so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
This set includes active hands-on learning ideas, book suggestions, and the following printables:
- Apple Number Cards (0-35)
- “Counting Apples” emergent reader
- “I See Apples” emergent reader
- Apple Letters (uppercase and lowercase in both red and green)
- Apple Life Cycle Cards (in color and b/w)
- Label the Apple Diagram (in color and b/w) with labeling cards
- Apple Pattern Cards
- Put the Apples on the Tree Game Mat
- Editable cover and pages for a class apple book
Get Your Preschool Apple Lesson Plans
Preschool Apple Lesson Plans for Classroom Teachers
Apple Preschool Lesson Plans for Home Preschool Families
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers
Here’s my apple theme Pinterest board, if you’d like more apple ideas!
Originally published September 14, 2014
